Sony Raises the Cost of PlayStation 4 and More in Canada

Weaker dollar equals stronger sticker shock.

After a splendid couple of years at dollar parity with the United States, the value of the loonie has decided to fly south for a while. As a result, products which were once priced the same as on American shelves have begun to creep up once again.

Among those items is Sony’s PlayStation 4. Earlier this week, Financial Postreported that a $50 increase for the price of the only recently-released hardware has seen an increase of $50 Canadian, meaning that early adoption wasn’t such a bad thing in this case as newer buyers will now have to pay $449.99 for the next-gen console. Sony did not directly state it was due to the Canadian dollar, but rather “changes in the market environment,” which the Post believes qualifies.

It’s not just the PS4 which is getting a new price tag; the DualShock 4 and PlayStation Camera are receiving bumps of their own, now retailing for $64.99, a $5 increase from their previous mark. Meanwhile, the upcoming releases of MLB The Show ’14 and inFAMOUS: Second Son will be priced at $69.99, $10 more than their Stateside counterparts.

For those wondering if Microsoft is planning to follow suit with their next-gen offerings, the answer is “not exactly.” While they have raised the price of games from $59.99 to $64.99, a representative for the company told the Post that there are no planned announcements for a price increase on the $499.99 Xbox One.

In fact, The Verge points out that as Microsoft has been trailing behind their competitor in sales, they’ve been going the opposite direction by providing better value for the consumer. Among these changes are bundles which include Titanfall or Forza Motorsport 5 with the console at no additional charge, while the United Kingdom has actually seen the price slashed by £30 as of the end of February.

That brings us to the burning question: If you were considering the purchase of a new PlayStation 4, has this latest move led you to reconsider? And with only a $50 difference separating it from the Xbox One, rather than the previous $100 difference (to say nothing of an included game), are you more inclined to consider the competition?